Editor’s Notes
From the Rockport-Fulton ad at the bottom right corner of
this page, fishermen should know that a once great fishing area
on the central Texas coast is back. Anyone who ever fished
Cedar Bayou in the “good old days” certainly has fond
memories of spectacular fishing trips. Both the surf and pass
offered prime fishing for speckled trout during the days, but it
was during the nights, fishing under lights, that are truly
memorable.
It wasn’t just anytime of the day or night that was good. It
was when the current started moving and forcing along vast
numbers of shrimp into the bay or out into the Gulf. It was
fairly common for anglers to just nap on cots in tents, or outside
on the sand along the pass, with just an occasional check for
water movement or jumping shrimp. But when the current
began moving from slack, to ebb or flood, things started
happening fast, and at the peak of movements the water surface
was literally alive with shrimp. A trout striking on the surface
would send showers of shrimp flying in all directions as they
tried to evade the speckled marauders.
Whether you threw MirrOlures, spoons, or “worms”, the
usually most effective means of filling a cooler was a tandem
jig loaded with red worms with yellow dots. Remember those?
The Bingo Hump M5 was also particularly deadly in the surf
or pass fished under a popping cork.
Another memory, not so fond, is about the mosquitos. The
only thing outnumbering the countless shrimp passing through
were the vast hordes of mosquitos that made sleeping outside a
hot tent a real challenge. Most effective means of surviving the
swarms were building smoky fires with driftwood and employing
a mosquito net whenever exposed outside. Both worked well.
Not only will the opening of Cedar Bayou enhance the
fishing in its general area, the bay systems from Port O’Connor
to Aransas Pass should benefit, as well. Special thanks goes to
Aransas County, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept., Coastal
Conservation Association, Texas General Land Office, and all
private contributions, as well as the
dredging company, RLB Contracting from
Port Lavaca, that did the dredging.
The sometimes opened and sometimes
closed bayou was definitely open in
November of 1863. Several thousand
members of the Union Army moving up the
barrier islands from Aransas Pass and
headed for Pass Cavallo, crossed Cedar
Bayou – a feat that was accomplished via
pontoon bridge. Due to the large number of
soldiers, and the cannons, wagons, horses, and
gear transported, the complete crossing took
three days.
Once across the bayou, the army
moved on to Pass Cavallo and attacked the
Confederate forces at Fort Esperanza.
During their stay here on the Gulf Coast
from November to the Spring of 1864,
things often mentioned in diaries, were
weather – both severe and pleasant, swims
in the Gulf between northers, the large
number of deer in the area, and the ever
favorite, succulent oyster. Some things
never change...
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